Reporting Absence

Hudson Primary School is committed to providing a full and efficient education to all pupils and embraces the concept of equal opportunities for all. We will endeavour to provide an environment where all pupils feel valued and are welcome.

For a child to reach their full educational achievement a high level of school attendance is essential. We will consistently work towards a goal of 100% attendance for all children. Every opportunity will be used to convey to pupils and their parents or carers – via teacher to pupil or newsletter - the importance of regular and punctual attendance. The governors of Hudson Primary School set an annual attendance target at 96% which slightly above national expectations.

School attendance is subject to various Education laws and this school attendance policy is written to reflect these laws and the guidance produced by the Department for Education. Each year the school will examine its attendance figures and set attendance targets. These will reflect both national and Sefton’s attendance targets. The school will review its systems for improving attendance at regular intervals to ensure that it is achieving its set goals.

Attending school

The doors open at 8.50am and close at 8.55am after which time children must enter school via the main entrance. Morning registration will take place at 9.00am. The registers will remain open for 30 minutes. Any pupil arriving in school between 9am and 9.30am will be marked as late.

Any pupil arriving after 9.30am will be marked as having an unauthorised absence unless an explanation given is accepted as grounds for authorising the late arrival.

The afternoon registration will be at 1.00pm for Foundation Stage and 12.50pm for Key Stage 1 and 2. Pupils who are late must report to the office.

Punctuality at Hudson

Punctuality is monitored by the school attendance officer who may send out a form to parents to make them aware of issues with punctuality. Any child who is absent from school must have their absence recorded as being authorised or unauthorised. Only the headteacher or a member of staff acting on the headteacher’s behalf can authorise absence.

First Day Absence – Parents/Carers are expected to contact the school before 9am on the first day of the child’s absence and are required to send in a note of explanation on the child’s return to school. The class teacher will transfer this information to the absence log in the register which will then inform office staff of any reasons for absence. Office staff will fill in the attendance log to inform teachers of the reasons why a child is absent and will follow up any unexplained absence with a telephone call on the first day of absence. Notification of absence can also be made electronically through the use of the school App.

Frequent or Long Term Absence – It is the responsibility of the class teacher and/ or the attendance officer to be aware of, and bring attention to the headteacher, any attendance concerns. In cases where a pupil is off school for a long period of time or is identified as developing a pattern of absences, the school will try to resolve the problem with the parents/carers. If this is unsuccessful and the child’s attendance is below 85% (and unauthorised) the school will refer to the Education Welfare Officer who will conduct an assessment of the situation. If the problem appears to be a medical one, the Education Welfare Officer will refer to the Community Medical Officer to establish why the child is frequently absent from school.

A Welcome Back – It is important that on return from an absence all pupils are made to feel welcome. This should include ensuring that the pupil is helped to catch up on missed work and brought up to date on any information that has been passed to the other pupils. If necessary missed work should be taken home for additional homework.

Absence Notes – The information contained within any absence notes received from parents is logged by the attendance officer and then the notes are destroyed. If there are attendance concerns about the pupil, that may require further investigation, then the notes may need to be retained for a longer period.

Promoting Attendance – The school will use opportunities as they arise to remind parents/carers, that it is their responsibility to ensure that their children receive their education whilst ensuring that their child is well enough to be in school and not an infection risk to other children. The weekly newsletter includes information about class attendance percentages and punctuality from the previous week. This information is shared with children in a weekly assembly in the form of an inter-class competition. At the end of each term, a prize is awarded to the class with the best attendance and punctuality. At the end of each half term, parents are given their child’s registration certificate which details their attendance and punctuality from the previous half term. If a child’s attendance is below 85% and/or they have been late more than 5 times in that half term, parents also receive a letter to remind them about the importance of regular attendance and punctuality. Children who have 100% attendance in a half term are given a sticker and certificates and prizes are awarded in the end of year Praise Assembly for any child who has full attendance over the year.